Tunisia’s first ever democratic local elections in May were a crucial step in the country’s efforts to devolve power from the national to the local level. In their latest paper, Decentralization in Tunisia: Empowering Towns, Engaging People, Sarah Yerkes and Marwan Muasher argued that if done right, decentralization will both empower local actors and introduce a new political class outside of the country’s traditionally dominant political parties. Successful decentralization requires strong political will from central government officials, who must demonstrate their commitment to participatory local governance both on paper and in practice, and from local officials who must build trust with their constituents, provide opportunities for citizen engagement, and prevent the recreation of ineffective institutions at the local level.

Agenda

10:00 a.m.

Welcome

Marwan Muasher

10:05 to 10:45 a.m.

Keynote Decentralization and Local Governance

Thomas Carothers

Moderator: P.J. Tobia

10:50 to 12:15 p.m.

Decentralization in Tunisia: Empowering Towns, Engaging People

Laura J. Hagg, Intissar Kherigi, Sarah Yerkes

Moderator: Marwan Muasher

12:15 p.m.

Lunch

Speakers

Marwan Muasher

Marwan Muasher is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees research in Washington and Beirut on the Middle East.

Thomas Carothers

Thomas Carothers is senior vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

P.J. Tobia

P.J. Tobia is a foreign affairs producer at PBS NewsHour, covering the Middle East and North Africa.

Laura J. Hagg

Laura J. Hagg is an independent consultant on local and international governance.

Intissar Kherigi

Intissar Kherigi is the programmes director at the Jasmine Foundation and a researcher at Sciences Po Paris.

Sarah Yerkes

About the Middle East Program

The Carnegie Middle East Program combines in-depth local knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to examine economic, sociopolitical, and strategic interests in the Arab world. Through detailed country studies and the exploration of key crosscutting themes, the Carnegie Middle East Program, in coordination with the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, provides analysis and recommendations in both English and Arabic that are deeply informed by knowledge and views from the region. The program has special expertise in processes of political, economic, and geopolitical change in Egypt, North Africa, Israel/Palestine, the Gulf, and Iran.

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